


Companion

by your_bro_joe



Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Animals, Cute Ending, Fluff, Gen, Getting a Pet, Harm to Animals, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 02:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3339548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/your_bro_joe/pseuds/your_bro_joe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scout doesn't even like cats, but this one has stolen his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Companion

"Hey there, lil guy."

It wasn’t supposed to last longer than a couple of days.

"You all alone out here?"

Just something to occupy his time while his teammates were busy.

"I bet you’re hungry, right?"

He didn’t even _like_ cats.

"Here, why don’tcha try some’a this?"

Still, Scout found himself smiling when the gray tabby ate little pieces of ham from his fingers, licking the juices off and purring. What had started out as occasional sightings of each other became a routine, to the point where Scout found himself helping and encouraging the little ball of fluff to catch lizards and stay away from scorpions. He almost wanted to name it, but wouldn’t let himself, fearful that he’d get too attached, and one day the cat wouldn’t be there.

And, sure enough, one day it wasn’t.

Scout tried not to worry about it, throwing all his energy and thoughts into the day’s battle, but when it still wasn’t there afterward, or the next day, he started to panic. What if the thing was hurt? What if it died because he’d waited too long to look for it? It would be all his fault, and it made him sick to think about. What if he looked for it and found its body, stiff and lifeless?

It was with this thought and tears threatening to spill over that he found it, weakly meowing between a shed and the perimeter fence. There was blood, and bone, and Scout could tell from a distance that one front leg had been mangled, probably by a coyote trying to drag the cat through the fence. He broke into a sprint, cradled the poor thing in his arms, and ran all the way to the infirmary.

The hours he spent in the waiting room were some of the toughest of his short life, and when Medic finally opened the door to the OR, Scout hastily wiped his face with his hand wraps, trying to hide his upset.

"She will be fine," were the first words out of Medic’s mouth, and before Scout could process the "she", or even whoop at the "fine", the doctor continued: "but her leg could not be saved. I rang Engineer, and he told me he would be willing to make her a prosthesis, if you would like."

Scout hesitated, breathing deeply to calm himself after the news. Instead of answering, he simply said, “can I see her?” Medic stood aside and let him in.

The little cat was still sleeping from the anesthesia, her chest slowly rising and falling. A large patch of skin had been shaved, and a line of fresh stitches ran down the center, where one of her front legs had been. Cautiously, he approached the table, until finally he was right beside it. He took a steadying breath then and laid a hand gently on her side.

"Hey, sweetheart," he whispered to her, "you’re gonna be okay. I got you now, and I’m never gonna let you get hurt again." He closed his eyes. "I’m never gonna let you outta my sight. The whole team’ll look out for you. You’re gonna be so spoiled." He looked down at her again, pretending he couldn’t feel the tears that started sliding down his cheeks. "You’re part of our family now, Judy."

As time went on, the little cat made a full recovery. With Scout’s permission, Engineer did make her a prosthesis, which Scout was careful to monitor and remove if it seemed to cause her discomfort. Medic took care of her health concerns, and Demoman proved to be somewhat of a cat aficionado, offering that the barns on his family’s estate were full of the things. Heavy made her food, and Sniper fashioned her a collar from crocodile hide. Pyro played with her whenever they got a chance, and Spy would pet her when he passed, careful not to get fur on his suit. Soldier treated her as well as his raccoons, and more than once Scout had to remind him not to feed her garbage, but he was good to her, and she was good to all of them.

At night, when the team went to bed, Judy would curl up beside Scout on his pillow, and he would pet her until he fell asleep, always grateful to see his family grow.


End file.
